Universal Accounting School

What it is

Universal Accounting School trains bookkeepers, tax preparers and accounting business owners, and the company behind it also calls itself Universal Accounting Center (UAC). The homepage headline is "Helping Accounting Professionals Excel in Their Careers since 1979," and the site says that since then UAC "has recognized the need for specialized training in small business accounting, bookkeeping, and tax." It describes itself as "a Better Business Bureau accredited accounting school" that has "helped tens of thousands of individuals get the skills, experience, and credentials it takes to advance their accounting careers." The footer address is in Draper, Utah, and the site links to a page of course locations.

What sets the school's offer apart is how much of it is about running an accounting business rather than only doing the work. The programs teach bookkeeping, tax and advisory skills, and then marketing, client-building and practice management for people who want their own firm. The homepage tagline sums it up in three short lines: get certified, offer better services, and get paid what you are worth.

Choosing a path

The homepage asks a single question, "What is your next career goal as an accounting professional?", and offers four answers:

• Bookkeeper or accountant: become proficient in the day-to-day practical application of accounting in business.
• Tax preparer: "Certify your skills in both individual and business returns, increasing your income by $100+ per hour," as the page puts it.
• CFO and advisor: "Offer and deliver advisory services with confidence, following a clear monthly process."
• Start a business: learn the turnkey steps to start an accounting, bookkeeping, tax or CFO and advisory business, which the site describes as being "in business for yourself but not by yourself."

A separate menu frames the same choices as career outcomes: get certified, find better employment through a job placement assistance program, start a business with the Turnkey Business Plan Program, or build an existing firm with The Universal Solution.

The certification programs

The Professional Bookkeeper Certification is the core course. The school's own article on bookkeeping certificates describes it as an online course that "focuses on real-world applications, not just theory," in which students learn "the fundamentals of accounting, payroll, and business taxes, along with how to set up and manage bookkeeping for small businesses." It adds marketing and client-building modules for those who want to start a bookkeeping business. The listed highlights are self-paced learning with online videos and quizzes, practical case studies for small business bookkeeping, certification upon completion, and job placement assistance and mentorship.

The Professional Tax Preparer Certification, or PTP Certification, is described on the site as Universal Accounting School's own program. A QuickBooks Specialist Certification sits alongside it, built on The Professional Bookkeeper's Guide to QuickBooks, which the site says is designed to teach anybody how to use QuickBooks. The course list also includes a program to become an Enrolled Agent, the IRS-licensed tax practitioner credential, and a page on accountant certification programs that says learners can grow their business knowledge "in as little as 4 Weeks."

For established practitioners, CFO & Advisory Services trains accountants to "Engage & retain your accounting clients as their CFO & Advisor," and the Business Accelerators provide "The turnkey tools and resources to build the premier accounting firm in your area."

How the teaching works

The courses are distance learning. The homepage says the programs "are delivered through rich and engaging training videos, so you can get the skills to advance your career in a way that fits your life and learning style." Learners sign in through a course login, and the account menu also lists CRM, Bizbench and UAC Tax logins, which points to the practice tools that come with the business programs.

The school pushes a personal start rather than a self-serve checkout. Visitors are invited to schedule a discovery call, and the homepage says: "Let us customize a program for you instead of having a school tell you what you need." A representative then recommends one or more programs based on the caller's background and goals. The call form also asks which challenge matters most: needing more clients, earning more per client, or working less for more profit.

Business building and marketing coaching

For people who want their own firm, the site promises "tested marketing models, promotional plans, and easy-to-follow guides to help you start and build your practice," plus "up to 2-years of marketing coaching and assistance." The homepage also describes what it calls a proven turnkey business plan for offering the 3 core services of an accounting firm, and says the training programs specialize in small business accounting as a niche market.

Free resources, events and community

The school gives away a fair amount to people who call or sign up. The homepage offers free access to its Turnkey Business Plan course for accounting professionals, a free copy of "The Accountant's Guide to Business Turnarounds, From Red to Black in 30 days," and free access to a Finding Employment with CONFIDENCE course for job seekers. The Accountrepreneurs Challenge is a free 90-day challenge, described as part of a "Give Back" program, to work on yourself and your business.

GrowCon is the school's conference "Exclusively for Owners of Bookkeeping, Tax & Accounting Companies." The Building the Premier Accounting Firm Podcast features guests sharing their experience of building a firm. The resources menu adds a blog, an FAQ, free e-books, a newsletter, blueprints, a toolbox and upcoming events. Recent articles covered choosing professional tax software, starting a digital bookkeeping business and starting a tax preparation business, and a 90-second video explains how the programs work.

Pricing and contact

The homepage publishes no tuition. Enrollment runs through a call, an application or a demo, and the site lists +1 (435) 344-2050 as its main number, 435-344-2060 for quick answers, and 801-265-3777 as a local line.

Who it suits

Universal Accounting School suits people who want accounting skills and a business plan at the same time: a career changer who wants to become a bookkeeper or tax preparer and work around a current job, a bookkeeper adding tax preparation, QuickBooks or advisory services, or an accountant who wants to start or grow a small firm with marketing coaching behind them. The self-paced video format, the job placement assistance and the free challenge and conference give each type of learner a way in.

The main caveats are practical. Tuition is not published, so the discovery call is where you learn the cost. The income claims on the site, such as the $100+ per hour figure for tax preparers, are the company's own marketing rather than a promise. And the focus is small business accounting, which suits independent practitioners more than people aiming for a large corporate finance department.